5 Delicious Ways To Use Canned Peaches

Canned peaches are a quick and easy way to enjoy the fantastic flavors of summer all year long. What's more, a scientific study conducted by the Oregon State University (via PR Newswire) found that canned peaches have an equivalent if not higher amount of nutritional value as their fresh counterparts. If you're fully stocked with canned peaches and are looking for a way to enjoy these conveniently preserved fruits, there are a number of creative uses that involve both sweet and savory applications along with different styles of dishes. Although dessert is most commonly associated with canned peaches, you can just as easily mix them up into a savory chutney, add them to a robust salad, or even muddle them into a mocktail or cocktail. Fling open the doors of your pantry and put those canned peaches to work in your kitchen!

Peaches are among the best canned fruits to buy at the grocery store, and choosing the right brand for you will come down to a matter of personal preference. Halves and slices are the most common style of canned peaches, and the liquids in the can are typically either a light-to-heavy syrup or juice. Let your intended dish determine the style of peaches you use and whether you want something light in flavor and texture or something with a more intense sweetness.

Air frying all types of different canned foods has been all the rage for quite some time now, and with good reason. Tossing your favorite canned fruits or veggies into the air fryer for a quick crisping makes less work in the kitchen and more time to enjoy your food. Canned peaches are the perfect effortless air fryer dessert because they take no more than between 10 and 12 minutes to prepare and can be customized with your favorite flavors, toppings, and other additions.

To make canned peaches in your air fryer, go for halved peaches, as they will hold up to the frying process better than slices. Start by draining the peaches of their liquid and adding the spices of your choosing. Brushing a small amount of coconut oil on the halves will act as a binder to hold the seasonings in place. Cinnamon and brown sugar are a standard go-to, but you can also infuse more warming flavor with powdered ginger and freshly grated nutmeg or even a homemade mix of pumpkin pie spices. To serve your air-fried peaches, crumble cinnamon graham crackers over the halves or pair them alongside a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream or a whipped meringue for the ultimate decadent treat.

Chutney is a condiment commonly found in Indian cuisine and served as an accompaniment to a number of curry dishes. Made using fruit, vinegar, and different spices, these also go by the name fruit relish in British and American iterations. Whatever you call it, chutney is perfectly paired to a wide variety of sweet and savory entrees, like seared pork with peach chutney. Using canned peaches is an excellent shortcut to preparing this versatile and easily customizable condiment.

Making your own peach chutney is fairly simple, with the only hard part being choosing what dish with which to use it first. Start with canned peach halves, then you can add vinegar, brown sugar, and a mix of your favorite sweet and savory spices before combining everything into a saucepan on the stovetop and simmering to let the flavors infuse. You can go sweeter by adding honey and white sugar to the mix or more traditional with ground mace, cardamom, and ginger. Be sure to use an airtight container, such as a lidded mason jar, and to store your cooled mixture in the refrigerator for later use.

Grilled, air fried, or simply drained peaches straight from the can are a fantastic ingredient to add fruit flavor to a refreshing salad. Adding a hearty helping of burrata into the mix means a delightful amount of creamy and rich flavor with a tender mouthfeel that will complement your canned peaches any way you choose to prepare them. The convenience of using your favorite brand of canned peaches makes this salad as effortless as it is tasty, and there are a number of other fun accompaniments that you can include in your salad to round out the flavor and texture variety.

For extra protein, add a small portion of prosciutto, cubed salami, or lardons to your salad. Throwing a handful of fresh basil will bring an earthy green element into play, which would pair especially well with a drizzle of balsamic reduction. All of this together with canned peaches and burrata cheese will come together to create an unbeatable salad recipe that you'll want to keep making all the time. The added bonus of using canned peaches also means that you can do this during any season that you wish.

Characterized by a crumbly streusel topping, there's little better than the gooey, sweet taste of a peach fruit crisp. Using canned peaches makes an already easy peach crisp recipe even easier, allowing you more time to sit back and indulge in this dessert. Whether you use slices or halves in syrup or juice, the sweetness already present from the canning process means that you don't have to do much to prepare your peaches for adding into the mix. This built-in element of flavor is just one reason why canned peaches are preferable to fresh for streamlining the process of making a fruit crisp from scratch.

Simply start by layering your peaches in a baking dish and preparing the streusel topping to sprinkle over the top. The entire baking process should take no more than half an hour, leaving you enough time to let everything cool before digging in. Flour, brown sugar, oats, butter, and salt should be all that you need for an easy crisp topping for your peaches, to which you can always add a shake of ground cinnamon or a small teaspoon of vanilla extract for extra flavor.

Whether you want a spirited sipper or a zero-proof beverage that's still sparkling with flavor, reach for canned peaches to give your drink the ultimate addition of taste and texture. Muddle up either halves or slices of peaches to make a picture-perfect puree for your favorite bellini recipe and more. If you'd like a sweeter sip, use peaches that have been canned in syrup or, if you'd prefer a drink on the lighter side, opt for peaches canned in juice. Peaches mix especially well with bourbon or whiskey but can also be adapted to different styles of cocktails or mixed with a nonalcoholic champagne or ginger beer in mocktails.

However you wish to imbibe, feel free to experiment with different flavor profiles to find what best suits your tastes. A botanical beverage made with gin and fresh herbs like rosemary would be a wonderful accompaniment when mixed with muddled canned peaches. You can also try your hand at making your own simple syrup into which you can infuse canned peaches for an extra punch of flavor.